MUSICROW Magazine: In Pictures: SESAC Honors Heritage, Offers Modern Amenities With New Music Row Office

SESAC welcomed artists, songwriters, publishers, and more from
Nashville’s music community on Monday (June 13) to get a first look at
its modern new office space at 35 Music Sq. E. in the Music Row
neighborhood. Among those taking in the new office space was Nashville
Mayor Megan Barry.
SESAC’s 42,000-square-feet space, located on the building’s fourth
and fifth floors, was designed by Nashville’s Tuck-Hinton and
California’s Wolcott Architecture/Interiors. The plan incorporates
plenty of natural lighting and open work spaces. Light woods,
glass-paneled offices and punches of red add vibrancy and transparency
to SESAC’s two floors of space.

SESAC (C) Moments By Moser Photography

On the first floor, a plaque welcomes visitors, informing them of the
site’s musical heritage as the former location for Combine Music,
followed by EMI and Broken Bow Records.
“We have been searching for a location on Music Row for three or four
years. We were insistent from day one that SESAC stay on Music Row,”
SESAC’s Pat Collins tells MusicRow. “It was
extremely important to us to stay on Music Row. In the main lobby of the
building, we did a plaque that acknowledges that Combine Music started
here, followed by EMI and ultimately Broken Bow. It’s very important for
us to also be aware and be respectful of the heritage of this site.”

A plaque honoring Combine Music at SESAC’s Music Row office. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

The new space balances history with progress, and provides a
comfortable workspace for SESAC’S 110 employees, along with plenty of
amenities, including a gym and a Fresh Market, which provides healthy
food options on-site for employees. In addition to spacious songwriters
rooms, a piano is available in the main lobby for visitors and employees
to play.
“Many of the people who work with and at SESAC are musicians in their
own right, so we give them an opportunity to move from their workspace
if they need a break and they can go tickle the ivories,” says Collins.
“It was as much mental health as productivity that we were looking to
harness.”
“I love the openness of it and the light,” says SESAC’s Dennis Lord.
“I think it has such a positive effect on everybody, being in this open
space. It also promotes a collaborative attitude. We talk more to each
other, because we are all together.”

SESAC. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

“We believe a more open plan was appropriate and fitting for this day
and age and the way that young people work and their work habits, and
the comfort level they would like while they practice their trade,”
says Collins. “Our Nashville employees also had input into the building.
We didn’t do anything without bringing it to our folks. We gave them
the objective and many people including the Sr. VP of Plant Operations
and HR, Cathy Grizzell, were involved. We are delighted that we have received glowing marks from our employees.”
At the heart of the move is the desire to build upon the legacy of
the companies that previously inhabited the site on 16th Avenue, while
offering a progressive work space for SESAC’S staff in a modern music
industry era. “We are honored to work on hallowed ground where Combine,
Broken Bow, and great artists like Kris Kristofferson penned many
classic evergreen compositions,” says Collins. “We are very proud of
this space.”

SESAC Conference Room. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

Writers room at SESAC. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

SESAC Writers Room. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

SESAC office space. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

Previous SESAC logos line one wall in the new office. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

SESAC offers a variety of meeting spaces throughout its new office. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

SESAC office space. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

Open office space at SESAC new location. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

SESAC’s main lobby. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography

Open work areas at SESAC’s new office space. Photo: Moments By Moser Photography